Crockpot Chickpea Curry
Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe – Try this easy vegetarian slow cooker chickpea curry recipe that is gluten-free and can be prepared dairy-free, too!
Indian Vegetarian Curry
In my younger years, I had the opportunity to spend three separate summers in India.
On my third trip, I spent a summer working in a small village in central India.
Nowadays many Indian cities are thriving urban areas, mingling colorful history with a modern flair. However, most often, rural India lives on as their ancestors in small villages with dirt roads, thatched roofs, and, open-air communal buildings.
In our little village, we cooked most of our meals over camping stoves. Yet the generosity of the Indian people opened the doors for many meals to be shared with our short-term neighbors.
Due to India’s caste system, many of our neighbors were vegetarian. I was always awestruck by the array or legume and egg-based curry dishes we were served at any given meal. Always with a heaping pile of fragrant basmati rice and a stack of steaming chapatis (flat tortilla-like bread.)
Indian Chickpea Curry
I actually had an impromptu cooking lesson, on several occasions, when a kindly granny would take me under her wing for the evening.
Once I learned to make chapatis sitting on a dirt floor, over a small stone table. Another time, I learned to make a classic chickpea curry dish in a hanging ceramic vessel over a campfire.
This Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe is a nod to the bright yellow aromatic chickpea curry I learned to make so many years ago.
The fragrant silky sauce is the perfect complement to the hearty chickpeas and sweet potatoes. Served over rice and scooped up with fresh naan, this satisfying and healthy meal is absolute comfort food.
What Ingredients You Need
I simplified the recipe to reduce the necessary ingredients by almost half, yet retain the same intense flavors of traditional Indian curries.
Here are some of the things you’ll need to make this amazing easy, gluten-free Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry:
- Honey – To offer a touch of sweetness to offset the spices. (Use agave for a vegan version.)
- Fresh Ginger – For a punch of spicy-sweet flavor.
- Garam Masala – A classic blend of popular spices used in India.
- Ground Turmeric – To offer bold color and depth of flavor.
- Ground Cumin – For a peppery smoky essence.
- Chickpeas – The base of the curry.
- Heavy Cream – Or, use full-fat coconut milk for a vegan version.
- Sweet Potatoes – To balance the flavor and texture of the chickpeas.
How to Make Crockpot Chickpea Curry
Making Chickpea Curry in the Slow Cooker allows you to prep very little, then set-and-forget this vegetarian dinner until much later in the day.
- First, add the oil to a skillet and place over medium heat. Sautee the diced onions, minced garlic, and fresh grated ginger together until soft, then remove from heat.
- Place the onion mixture in the blender, along with the heavy cream or coconut milk, all of the spices, honey, and salt. Cover and puree until smooth.
- Pour the curry blend into the slow cooker, then add the chickpeas and chopped sweet potato. Mix well. Place the lid on the slow cooker, and turn on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.
Get the Complete (Printable) Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Once the sweet potatoes are fork-tender, serve the chickpea curry warm with a bit of fresh cilantro on top if you like.
Crockpot Chickpea Curry is fabulous and still completely gluten-free served over basmati rice.
It also makes a wonderful Indian-style filling for (not gluten-free) warm naan and chapatis!
Is This Chickpea Curry Recipe Good For Making Ahead?
Yes, this dish is delicious as leftovers for healthy lunches or quick prepped dinners! Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, vegetarian or vegan Crockpot Chickpea Curry will keep well for up to 4-5 days.
Because of the dairy or cream consistently of coconut milk, I do not recommend freezing.
Can I Make This Crockpot Curry Recipe with Chicken?
You can certainly add chicken to this curry. For the most tender chicken, I recommend using boneless skinless thighs.
The cooking time will remain the same, but be sure that the chicken pieces are completely covered by the curry liquid to prevent them from drying out.
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Looking for More Flavorful Curry Recipes?
- Thai Red Curry Grilled Chicken Salad
- Perfect Instant Pot Butter Chicken Curry
- Green Curry Coconut Crusted Baked Salmon
- Slow Cooker Potato Curry
- The Best Thai Panang Chicken Curry
- Green Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
- Slow Cooker Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce – The Food Charlatan
- Chicken Snow Pea Green Curry – Nutmeg Nanny
- Thai Curried Salmon – Foodie Crush
Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (or 13 ounce can thick unsweetened coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 28 ounces chickpeas, drained (2 cans)
- 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
Instructions
- Add the oil to a skillet and place over medium heat. Sautee the onions, garlic, and ginger until soft, 3-5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Place the onion mixture in the blender, along with the cream (or coconut milk,) all spices, honey, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and puree until smooth.
- Pour the curry blend into the slow cooker, then add the chickpeas and chopped sweet potato. Mix well. Place the lid on the slow cooker, and turn on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Once the sweet potatoes are soft, serve warm over basmati rice or with Indian style flatbread (naan or chapatis.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Nice recipe. I am gonna try it this weekend.
What size of crockpot would be best for this recipe?
Hi There,
Use a large round or oval crock pot, usually 6-8 quarts.
I love this recipe! I’ve been making it regularly for about 5 years now! It’s a nice, simple weekday meal!
Is curry powder an acceptable substitute if you don’t have garam marsala, turmeric, or cumin?
Hi Heather,
It is definitely not the same, but will give you a good flavor. :)
So easy, so quick!
Substations –
• Used ginger powder instead as it’s all I had (1/4 tsp it’s concentrated!)
• added 3 chicken thighs I had left in freezer
• used cumin seeds as I had no powder
• coconut cream instead of cream
• Added 1 Tsp stock powder for extra savoury flavour instead of salt
Fantastic recipe, thanks so much!
Omg SO GOOOOOD!!! I make this like biweekly now I swear, goes amazingly with naan. I like to add in a package of sliced white mushrooms, love how it enhances the flavor and texture. Secret: sprinkle some paprika and cinnamon on top when done cooking, then mix in. Trust me.
A good “base” for chickpea curry. Next time I’ll double the spices and add a cinnamon stick and a teaspoons of crushed cardamom seeds. Probably also something acidic such as lime juice. I used dried chickpeas and cooked on low for 7 h and the texture was perfect.
Did you add any extra liquid with the dry chick peas? Love this idea!
I made this for a dinner party as a few of my guests were vegan(including me). It was devoured by everyone:) I’m making it again today so I can freeze it in portions for days I don’t want to cook a separate meal for myself.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe
Not a bad dish at all, but it is lacking a few ingredients. It’s also a bit too sweet for my liking.
Would some crushed red pepper be good for a little kick?
Hi Jen,
Absolutely! Fire it up!!
Really loved it
This was fantastic! I would make it again and add other vegetables. The base is just really delicious!
Really loved the addition of sweet potato and honey to this! So good!
This is so good!! Such a flavorful meal!
How much chickpeas should I use if preparing dried chickpeas?
Hi Jillian,
You would need roughly 1 1/2 cups of dried chickpeas. :)
I ended up using the 2 28oz cans on chickpeas it called for. That seems like a lot, but I guess I’ll find out in about 5 hours!
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I love this recipe. You mentioned that you simplified the recipe and cut by half. I would love the full version if possible.
delicious! creamy, sweet and savory (and quite easy). highly recommend.
This recipe is a winner!!! It is rich in flavour yet gentle. Every time I make it I am asked for the recipe.
Made this dish last night per instructions (used coconut milk) but increased the amount of the curry and cumin spices. It was a huge hit with the family. Will make it again very soon and likely add spinach and/or other vegetables. The flavor and texture of the sauce were excellent and authentic!
This is a staple curry in our home. We probably make it every couple weeks-we love it!
I used your recipe as a base and cooked chickpeas, red potatoes, carrots, red bell pepper, and cauliflower in the curry sauce. I prepared it on the stovetop, and it took less than 30 minutes, including all the chopping. I did not use the blender for the onion mix because I like my curries chunky. I loved how it came out! I had to thin it a bit with water, because I cooked the coconut milk a bit too long and too high (and probably because the starch in the potatoes thickened the liquid) but the results were just what I was craving on a windy an cold evening. I will make this again. Thank you for the inspiration!
This was delicious! I used butternut squash instead because that is what I had – it was yummy! I also threw some fresh spinach in at the very end.
YUM! This is delicious and so easy. Great flavors. I used coconut milk, left out the oil (water sautéed instead) and honey, subbed baby carrots for the sweet potato, and added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of sliced mushrooms. Hearty and nutritarian :)
I have just made this, and it is so delicious and super easy! I didn’t blend the onion mix because I had a sleeping baby in the next room, and I also added some cauliflower and regular potato. I also substituted maple syrup for the honey. It is super tasty and creamy and smooth and oooohhh so good on a winter’s night!
This curry is so good! It is a nice meat-free meal!
This dish is so flavorful, one of my very favorites!
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The flavors are amazing! Perfect for a meatless meal!
This recipe was DELICIOUS and very authentic. I used simple coconut milk. I substituted the 2nd can of chickpeas with drained corn. I cooked it overnight on low for a little over 8 hours. I feel like almost any veggie would work for this recipe. Thank you! This will definitely be my go-to recipe for when I’m craving curry and don’t feel like over-doing it at a buffet. :)
can i use unsweetened soy milk instead?
Hi AC,
Absolutely! :)
Looking forward to making this recipe. Have you tried it with dry chickpeas instead of canned? Is the cook time the same?
We added some precooked chicken about an hour before serving. Also, I don’t have the knife skills to dice sweet potatoes, so instead of 3 cups, I used 3 whole sweet potatoes roughly cubed. Because of the additional sweet potatoes soaking up the sauce, next time, we will use 2 cups of cream instead of 1.5 cups. Amazing recipe. We will make it often!
Just finished eating this with basmati rice lol!
I made the sauce exactly to the recipe. I used mushrooms instead of sweet potato. I LOVE it! Halfway through cooking I added more spice to the sauce, plus a tablespoon of curry powder (next time I will just add more spice and curry powder at the beginning).
This sauce is the perfect base for vegetable curry, and also for fish curry if you add fish stock/seasoning.
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I love this! Thank you so much for posting it. I’ve made it several times. I’ve substituted other vegetables for the sweet potatoes, which I don’t typically have in the house. I found that chopped fresh tomatoes worked well (I used 2).
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Absolutely delicious, easy and cheap, definitely a winter warmer
I made this for dinner tonight. I substituted butternut squash for a bunch of the sweet potato, but made everything else to the recipe using coconut milk. I also added cooked chicken breast during serving to further increase the protein. It was amazing. I’m full and I still want to go down to the fridge and get more. Thank you for a truly fantastic and easy recipe!
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Hi Laura,
Heavy cream is just a little thicker than whipping cream. However, you really could use either one. :)
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The best meal and recipe, keep making more!
I feel like I should leave a review, since I’ve been making your curry for a couple years now, probably averaging 2x per month. I consider it one of my “signature dishes” since it gets requested the most often. It’s such a great recipe to branch out with. I’ve made so many versions, while keeping the curry the same, as it’s the star of this dish. I always double the ingredients for the curry sauce because it’s so freaking good to eat with rice. Thank you so much for the recipe, it’s been one of my favorite things to cook.
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This curry was perfect. I’m trying to eat less meat and recipes like this make it really easy. Thank you!
This was wonderful. I did 6hrs on low, that was great but 5 probably would have been fine too. I only had 1 can of chickpeas but didn’t want to wait so I substituted cauliflower for the second can and that worked great. I threw about a cup of frozen peas in at the end. The spices and flavor in this recipe are lovely. Without the crushed red pepper it was not too spicy for my mom and kids and my husband added some hot sauce. Thanks so much- I’m so happy to have a go to curry for the slow cooker!
I LOVE the idea of including cauliflower to increase the vegetable content. Did you add the cauliflower toward the end (when you put in the peas) or did you cook the cauliflower the entire time?
Sounds to me like the cauliflower was added at the beginning – depends on the size of the florets I guess? Please update here if you try it with cauliflower!
I added cauliflower to mine, and added it at the beginning. Interestingly, it took longer to cook than the sweet potato!
One of my go-to family meals! Great on the hob as well as a last minute meal! 5 out 5, have shared the recipe with fellow diners afterwards!
I make this recipe all the time and I LOVE it! However, its a little low on the protein for my preference. Firm tofu, or a white fish thrown in 30 minutes before the slow cooker is finished has been a great adjustment to meet my protein needs!
Hello! I can’t wait to make this. Is the cooking time the same if you double the recipe? I’m making this for a large group. Thanks!
Hi Katie,
Usually when you multiply a slow cooker recipe is does take longer to cook. It’s hard to say exactly how much longer, but I would guess 1-2 hours.
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Cooked this overnight on low and definitely didn’t come out like the picture (smells great though!).
I think the 4 hour or less mark is probably best. I will try it again. Any tips are appreciated!
This was super good! I’m not much of a cook and my boyfriend is from India and just loved it. Making it for the second time tonight. We set it on high and it’s done in about three hours.
Hello
I have curry powder, what spices do I obmit in the recipe? Do I still add the ginger and honey?
This is years too late, but in case it helps someone else.. I subbed in curry powder for the turmeric and veeery slightly reduced the cumin.
If I were to add chicken to this crock pot recipe, would that be tasty and would the cooking time be the same?
Hi Lenore,
Absolutely! It will cook the same amount of time. Just make sure it is completely covered by the liquid, so it doesn’t dry out. If you plan to let it simmer all day, I would probably go with boneless skinless chicken thighs.
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Does this chickpea curry recipe not actually call for curry? Just checking before I make it. It looks delicious!
This chickpea curry looks delicious with so creamy and thick gravy.I usually boil chickpea using slow cooker, but I didn’t use it for curry.This is a great idea for me to try…
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Wow. I’ve not had curry before. This was entirely different from my usual recipes. I loved the flavors. Like someone else mentioned, 4.5 hours might be too long for the HIGH setting. I just did 4 hours and it turned out perfect. Thanks for sharing! I’m beaming. :)
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My future DIL loves sweet potatoes but has mostly had them in the ubiquitous Thanksgiving marshmallow casserole. I have been trying to expand her horizons of how wonderful they can actually be. I found your recipe last week and made it tonight. We all thought it was great but she kept going back for more. When my son was taking her home I went to the door and asked if she would like to take some for lunch tomorrow. She said are you kidding and ran back inside the house while I packed her up a lunch. I had recently stumbled upon some dried curry leaves and fried them along with the onions. First time to use them. They were great in this. I doubled the recipe. Cooked it on high for 4 hours. Potatoes were just right as were the garbanzo beans. She is allergic to dairy so I did all coconut milk. This recipe is going to be going into our regular rotation. Thank you for helping me get one more recipe away from marshmallows!
Hi TerriSue, Thanks so much for coming back to let me know how it turned out. You just made my day! :)
I made this last night and it was great! I loved the flavors and the creaminess, thanks for the recipe! One edit I would make is that I would cook it for less time. I did 4.5 hours on high and the sweet potatoes were completely disintegrated and the chickpeas were mushy. It may be due to my crock pot, but I think with a little less cooking time, next time it will be perfect!
I cooked for 6 hours on low, and the sweet potatoes were the perfect consistency!
I am so in love with this right now, everything from the curry, to the chickpeas, to being in a slow cooker.
I wonder how butternut squash would be instead of sweet potatoes?
Such a gorgeous dish, and what an incredible experience to have had.
I must try this curry! Looks fantastic!
I love Indian cuisine. I’m from England and there’s a curry shop on every corner there!
While I love a simple recipe for busy days (and this one looks really yummy), sometimes I love to delve into a more involved one. For those of us who enjoy such things, perhaps one day you could share the original recipe that you simplified?
Curry is my jam. I can’t wait to try this out (probably tomorrow!)!
This curry looks amazing!!!
This looks so amazing and cozy! YUM!
I LOVE curry!! This is such a yummy looking dish!
Gah!!!!! Curry is my favorite! This looks just awesome!
Curry, oh how I love thee. Great easy recipe!
Since I was on two of those trips to India with you, I think I have to make this. Also because it looks amazing! Your memories of our food in the village are much better than mine. I always think of the nasty MREs and Neelka’s concoctions of flour and butter. Good times!
LOL! I remember those too… Just trying to focus on the good meals. ;)